Safety razor blade sharpener



ay 1937i G L. ROBERTSON 2,080,339

SAFETY RAZOR BLADE SHARPENER Filed Oct. 21, 19:55 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 .m umg ggggg Ili m Z I f 24 INVENTOR ATTORNEY M y 1937. G. L. ROBERTSON 2,080,339

SAFETY RAZOR BLADE SHARPENER 7 Filed Oct. 21, 1935 2 Sheeis-Sheet 2 GeolyeL oeru/fa'ogmmw A-r-ronusv Patented May 11, 1937 UNITED STATES 2,080,339 SAFETY RAZOR BLADE SHARPENER George Lawson Robertson, Philadelphia, Pa.,- as

signor of one-half to Frances ONeill, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application October 21, 1935, Serial No. 46,022

5 Ciai'ms.

This invention relates to safety razor blade sharpeners, and has for the primary object the provision of a device of this character whereby a blade may be readily adapted thereto and efficiently sharpened and provides a device which will be durable and economical to manufacture so that the sale thereof may be at a low price.

With these and other objects in View, this invention consists in certain novel features of con struction, combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective View illustrating a safety razor blade sharpener constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a sectional view showing the sharpener in an open position.

Figure 5 is a top plan view showing the sharpener in an open position.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral I indicates a case including a body portion 2 and a cover 3 hinged to the body portion, as shown at 4, and also held in body-closing position by a catch 5. The cover 3 has journaled thereto a hand crank 6 and secured to the latter is a gear 1 located within the cover and adapted to mesh with a gear 8 when the cover is positioned to close the body 2 of the case. The gear 8 is secured to a shaft 9 journaled in opposite walls of the body 2. The shaft 9 has an offset or crank ID on which is mounted a blade holder II. The crank ill turns free of the blade holder and the latter is equipped with a projection or finger piece l2 which extends through a slot I3 in the bottom wall of the body 2.

Rods M are secured to opposite walls of the cover and body and mounted to said rods are sharpening elements or plates I5, each constructed of any suitable sharpening material and providedwith apertured ears lBto receive the rod. The apertured ears are provided with stop faces I! to abut walls of the cover and body for maintaining the sharpening plates in a horizontal position and in opposed pairs, one pair being supported by the cover and the other pair by the body 2. Coil springs I8 engage with the sharpening plates l5 for urging the latter in one direction and the stop faces into engagement with the walls of the cover and body. The coil springs line permit the sharpening plates to yield under pressure.

The crank shaft is located between the pair of sharpening plates of the body 2, also'the blade holder l includes av resilientbowed portion 29 5 having its ends bent angularly and paralleling one another and apertured to receive the crank handle. The bowed portion 20 has the finger piece 12 secured thereto. The parallel ends of the bowed portion have formed integrally there with lips or plates 2| forming rests for the end portions of a blade andformed on the rests are hook-shaped projections 22. The hook-shaped projections cooperate with the rests in gripping the ends of the blade to maintain the blade against sidewise and endwise movements relative to the blade holder in entirety. A blade supported by the holder will be maintained with a certain amount of rigidity and during the rotation of the shaft 9 the crank imparts an oscillatory movement to the blade as well as an upward and downward movement causing the blade to engage the sharpening plates with a wiping action, thereby efiiciently sharpening both edges of the blade to restore the blade for efficient use.

To apply a blade to the holder, the finger piece I2 is pressed, flexing the bowed portion 20 and causing the end portions thereof to move apart so that the ends of the blade may be readily inserted between the rests and the hook-shaped projections 22. The bowed portion being of flexible material will assume its original position when pressure is released from the finger piece causing the end portions thereof to move in the direction of one another bringing about a firm grip upon each end of the blade.

From the foregoing description and accompanying drawings it will be seen that a safety razor blade sharpener has been provided wherein most of the partsthereof may be manufactured by a stamping operation consequently permitting said parts to be cheaply manufactured.

Having described the invention, I claim:

1. A safety razor blade sharpener comprising a case, sharpening elements yieldably mounted in said case, a crank shaft journaled in said base, a resilient bowed element having parallel ends apertured to receive the crank of the crank shaft, means for supporting a blade to said ends of the bowed element, and means for preventing rotation of the bowed element with the crank shaft and allowing said bowed element to have an oscillatory movement as well as an upward and downward movement and providing a finger piece for 5 flexing said bowed member to permit application and release of the blade to the ends thereof.

2. A safety razor blade sharpener comprising a case, sharpening elements yieldably mounted in said case, a crank shaft journaled in said case, a flexible bowed element having parallel apertured end portions receiving the crank of the crank shaft, said case having a slot, a finger piece secured to the bowed element for manually flexing the latter and extending through the slot to permit the flexible bowed element to move by the rotation of said crank shaft and prevent said flexible bowed element from rotating with the crank shaft, and means carried by said end portions for receiving the ends of the blade.

3. A safety razor blade sharpener comprising a case, sharpening elements yieldably mounted in said case, a crank shaft journaled in said case, a flexible bowed element having parallel apertured end portions receiving the crank of the crank shaft, said case having a slot, a finger piece secured to the bowed element for manually flexing the latter and extending through the slot to permit the flexible bowed element to move by the rotation of said crank shaft and prevent said flexible bowed element from rotating with the crank shaft, rests formed on said end portions of the bowed element, and hook-shaped elements formed on said restsand cooperating therewith in receiving the ends of the blade.

4. A safety razor blade sharpener comprising a supporting structure, pairs of sharpening elements carried by said supporting structure with the sharpening elements of each pair arranged and disposed in superimposed relation, a holder carrying a blade with the cutting edges thereof disposed between the pairs of sharpening elements, a rotatable shaft journaled on the supporting structure and having a crank with the holder journaled on said crank to cause the holder while maintaining a horizontal position with respect to the sharpening elements to travel in a circular path for alternatingly presenting the cutting edges of the blade in contact with the pairs of sharpening elements, and means for maintaining the holder horizontally during its movement with the crank of said shaft.

5. A safety razor blade sharpener comprising a supporting structure, pairs of sharpening elements carried by said supporting structure with the sharpening elements of each pair arranged and disposed in superimposed relation, a holder carrying a blade with the cutting edges thereof disposed between the pairs of sharpening elements, a rotatable shaft journaled on the supporting structure and having a crank with the holder journaled on said crank to cause the holder while maintaining a horizontal position with respect to the sharpening elements to travel in a circular path for alternatingly presenting the cutting edges of the blade in contact with the pairs of sharpening elements, and a pin slidably engaging the supporting structure and secured to the holder for maintaining the latter in a horizontal position during its movement in a circular path.

GEORGE LAWSON ROBERTSON. 

